Monday, September 14, 2009

Just Say "No" To Bullies...

There’s no “good time” to ask people to vote. It will always be inconvenient, especially during an unstable minority Parliament when the interval between elections is shorter.

But at some point – when a government is blatantly incompetent and dishonest – a line must be drawn. Confronted with unrepentant government misbehavior, the Official Opposition cannot just “look the other way”.

After giving the Harper regime nearly a year to show some good intentions, the Liberals have made it clear that their patience is exhausted. (The onus has shifted to the NDP or the Bloc Quebecois to sustain the Conservatives.)

A pattern of unacceptable government dishonesty began accumulating long ago.

The first example was probably that $800 million falsehood told to Saskatchewan about equalization, followed by a $25 billion falsehood told to two million innocent investors about Income Trusts.

Add to that, the dishonesty about fixed election dates, Senate appointments, floor-crossers, the threat of a recession and deficits!

Add to that, the loss of nearly 500,000 full-time jobs, an infrastructure program that has an 80% failure rate, the squandering of Canada’s financial strength BEFORE there was any recession, ballooning debt of more than $160 billion over six years (instead of four more surplus budgets), and the bungling of public health issues around H1N1 flu, listeriosis and medical isotopes.

Add to that, the failure to deliver for Saskatchewan – no help for our livestock and forestry sectors, unfulfilled promises about cellulose ethanol plants and a police research centre, no secure funding for the RCMP Heritage Centre, the attack on PFRA and the Grain Commission, and the elimination of the Prairie Grain Roads Program.

Add to that, months of bitter Conservative attack-ads and hate-mail.

The Harper regime represents what’s wrong with politics in Canada. This country can surely do better!